Here's your (not so) totally useless fact(s) of the day:

[phkrause]

Cathay Williams became the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S.
army in 1866. Since women were barred from joining the military at the time,
she enlisted as a man under the pseudonym William Cathay.

James

[phkrause]

Despite the optical illusion, the Gateway Arch is exactly as wide (630 feet)
as it is tall.

James

[phkrause]

Aerosmith made more money from "Guitar Hero" than from any of their albums.

James

[phkrause]

A misomaniac is a person who hates everything and everyone.

James

[phkrause]

Some people can remember almost every day of their lives. The condition is
called "Hyperthymesia."

James

[phkrause]

“Goodbye” comes from the term “Godbwye,” a contraction of the phrase “God be with ye.”

James

[phkrause]

On average, soccer players run seven miles per game.

James

[phkrause]

A single strand of spaghetti is called a "spaghetto."

James

[phkrause]

The ancient Egyptians had 12 months of exactly 30 days each, with five days of partying at the end of the year to bring the total to 365.

James

[phkrause]

"Schnapsidee" is the German word for a ridiculous idea that only sounds good when you're drunk.

James

[phkrause]

On January 1, 1835, President Andrew Jackson paid off the entire United States debt. The only time in American history this has ever been accomplished.

James

[phkrause]

In 1953, Swanson had 260 tons of frozen turkey leftover after Thanksgiving, so they packaged them into trays with peas and potatoes, and the TV Dinner was born.

James

[phkrause]

David Letterman began his broadcast career as a television weatherman and news anchor in Indianapolis, Indiana. He received attention for his unpredictble on-air behavior, which included congratulating a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane and predicting hail stones "the size of canned hams." His brand of humor was already evident as he would often report the weather for fictitious cities ("Eight inches of snow in Bingree and surrounding areas"). His big break came when he appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

James

[phkrause]

If there were absolutely no empty space between them, every atom in the world would fit inside one grain of salt.

James

[phkrause]

Unlike the seven men who preceded him in the White House, Martin Van Buren was the first president to be born a citizen of the United States and not a British subject. Martin Van Buren was born December 5, 1782, in Kinderhook, New York making him the first U.S. President born after the United States had declared its independence from Great Britain. He was raised speaking Dutch and learned English at school, making him the only U.S. president to speak English as his second language. He became the eighth President of the United States (1837- 1841), after serving as the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State.

James

[phkrause]

There was a time in baseball history when the “New York Yankees” were called the “New York Highlanders”. They had no World Championships and Babe Ruth was just eight years old when the team played their first game. Not only did the New York Highlanders have a losing record for many years, but the team’s home field was also a mess: it was located near a swamp, the outfield had no grass, and the ballpark sat mostly unfinished. In 1913, The Highlanders changed their name to the Yankees, moved their stadium to the Bronx, and went on to become one of the most successful sports franchise in the world.

James

[phkrause]

The red and white Coca-Cola logo is recognized by 94% of the world's
population.

Coca-Cola has also reported that its name is the second-most recognized
term in the world, behind "okay."

James

[phkrause]

About 55% of people yawn after reading the word “yawn.”

James

[phkrause]

People who always feel the need to correct other people's grammar are suffering from a form of OCD called Grammar Pedantry Syndrome.

James

[phkrause]

A sophomaniac is a person who's under the delusion that they are extremely intelligent.

James

[phkrause]

A “moment” technically means 90 seconds.

James

[phkrause]

In 2019, a Georgia teacher who purchased a $400 travel insurance policy was rewarded $10,000 for reading the contract's fine print.

Page 7 mentioned a "Pays to Read" contest, where the first person to contact them would win $10K.

James

[phkrause]

When Crystal Pepsi came out, Coca-Cola released a competing product called 'Tab Clear.' But, Tab Clear was intentionally marketed poorly so it would fail and hurt Pepsi's product by association.

This is the "born to die" strategy and within 6 months, both campaigns were dead.

James

[phkrause]

NASA plans to probe Uranus in about 15 years.

For real!  ?

James

[phkrause]

Arizona Iced Tea has cost 99 cents a can since 1992.

James